Today's Top Political and Coronavirus News Compilation - Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Below are some of the top political news stories of the day:



REUTERS/Leah Millis

Democratic drive for Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan could leave progressive priorities behind
As Democrats battled over the wage increase, a dispute also broke out over liberals’ call for canceling $50,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers.

Updated 7:59 PM CST

McConnell's plan to deal with Trump: Ignore him

Rush Limbaugh, ‘voice of American conservatism,’ has died

Republicans remember Rush Limbaugh as revolutionary 'giant' in conservative politics

Explainer: The legal questions left unanswered by Trump's impeachment trial

Biden White House memo reveals strategy to pressure Republicans on COVID relief

Fact check: Biden makes at least four false statistical claims at CNN town hall

Ex-Trump press secretary criticized for stirring up QAnon on Twitter

Biden backs studying reparations as Congress considers bill

Plaintiffs in Capitol riot suit against Trump say 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act 'fit so well'

What Trump Gets Wrong About McConnell

Stumbles, Clashes and Egos: Behind the Scenes With Trump's Legal Team - NY Times

Senior Pentagon official says 'not aware' of any threats in DC as National Guard prepares to stand down

Trump could still be barred from holding future office, said Rep. Jamie Raskin

73% of adults say belief in conspiracy theories in US 'out of control': Poll

Biden will press for COVID relief plan with AFL-CIO, other labor leaders

On The Trail: Trump threatens a Tea Party redux

Florida Governor Accused Of 'Playing Politics' With COVID-19 Vaccine

Before Fox News and President Trump, there was Rush Limbaugh

GOP state lawmakers and election officials launch commission to examine voting laws

Trump-McConnell rift threatens GOP's Senate hopes

Trump impeachment manager says she's filled with 'glee' at prospect of questioning McCarthy about Capitol riot

US charges North Korean computer programmers in global hacks

Collins says GOP should move away from being about 'just one person'

Trump mourns Rush Limbaugh's death on Fox News — and repeats false election claims

Justice Department charges 3 North Korean hackers in $1.3 billion theft scheme

The political world reacts to Rush Limbaugh's death

'I got no defense' Ted Cruz admits in controversy over energy policies in California and Texas

Cuomo pushes back at Dem critic Ron Kim over nursing home scandal: 'A long and hostile relationship'

Covid stimulus may leave aid for sick workers behind

Trump-McConnell feud threatens Republicans’ path to power

Key Democrats unhappy with Biden's reluctance to cancel $50,000 in student debt
Biden will ask DOJ to review his authority to cancel student loan debt - White House

Liberal groups launch 'Latino Anti-Disinformation Lab' to combat Covid, election messaging

Top Biden cybersecurity official details response to SolarWinds breach

8 shot in Philadelphia, 1 person in custody: Police

Texans risk safety in search for heat amid winter weather disaster (video)

OAN, Newsmax, Gateway Pundit saw traffic spike in 2020

Group of U.S. senators say mail continues to face 'unacceptable delays'

How Biden could find himself on the same side as Trump

Joe Manchin will keep Senate's 'Byrd rule' flying

DeSantis defends controversial vaccine deal with developer -- and threatens to pull vaccines if officials don't like it

Power outages linger for millions as another icy storm looms

Texas deep freeze causes electricity prices to spike 10,000 percent

Renewable energy is not to blame for the Texas energy crisis

'You're On Your Own': Texans Without Power Try To Survive After Electric Grid Fails

The Lincoln Project's spectacular downfall: A timeline

Biden's 1st 100 days live updates: Harris faces pushback on reopening schools

Biden’s snub of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a ‘warning’ of a relationship downgrade

Cuomo said 'he can destroy me': NY assemblyman alleges governor threatened him over nursing homes scandal

South slammed by 2nd dangerous storm: Latest forecast

Biden’s Medicare pick would be 1st Black woman to hold post

Judge orders 2 Capitol insurrection suspects to remain in jail

Three officers charged in Floyd death file for dismissal

Trump Praises Limbaugh, Who Died Wednesday, As A 'Legend'

Trump 'won't say yet' if he's running in 2024

More deadly storms coming so prepare better, experts say

Exclusive: Big Tech's Democratic critics discuss ways to strike back with White House

Facebook Blocks News In Australia Over Government Plan To Force Payment To Publishers

California OK’s mailed ballots for 2021 as recall looms
Texas shivers as furious officials call for answers over outages

South Carolina Democrats walk out to protest bill that would ban nearly all abortions in the state

Texas blackouts fuel false claims about renewable energy

Biden picks Brooks-LaSure to run Medicare, Medicaid agency

U.S. lawmakers ask Blinken for briefing on Nord Stream 2 natgas pipeline

Texas mayor resigns after telling freezing residents to stop complaining about cold snap

Catastrophic power outages in Texas aren't just a result of the cold

Rep. Burgess Owens: 'Unfair and heartless' for Democrats to raise Black Americans' hopes for reparations

IRS says all $600 stimulus payments from December bill have been sent

Democrat says Cuomo vowed to 'destroy' him for criticizing nursing home Covid response

Senate Dems take a page from GOP in judicial nominee battles

Biden’s $15 wage proposal: Job killer or a boon for workers?

Five things to know about Texas's strained electric grid

NASA's Perseverance rover to attempt ambitious landing on Mars

Explainer: What is the Ku Klux Klan Act cited in lawsuit against Trump

Amazon’s secret strategy to dodge India’s regulators

Tim Scott blasts Dems’ proposed $15 minimum wage, says killing millions more jobs is ‘not common sense’

Donald Trump's Atlantic City casino implodes, Mar-a-Lago helipad demolished
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Posted 6:28 AM CST

With Trump's impeachment trial over, Biden pushes his agenda in televised town hall

Trump launches GOP civil war with attack on 'hack' McConnell

Biden reframes his goal on reopening of elementary schools

Biden suggests more police funding, no jail for drug offenders

Biden opposes defunding the police. Here's what that means

Biden cautiously predicts 'very different circumstance' with pandemic by Christmas

Riot probe to likely focus on McCarthy-Trump call

Graham: Mitch McConnell was 'indispensable' to Trump's success (video)

6 takeaways from Joe Biden's CNN town hall

Executioners sanitized accounts of deaths in federal cases

Biden says admin will focus on 'dangerous' white supremacists

Biden dismisses a Democratic plan to wipe out $50,000 in federal student-loan debt - BI

Biden wants to put a Black woman on the Supreme Court. That's underscored a lack of diversity in lower courts

Biden caught in schools squeeze amid COVID-19 relief push: The Note

Millions endure record cold without power; at least 20 dead

The Birthplace of the Republican Party Buckles After Trump Nearly Blew Up the GOP

Graham weighs in on McConnell-Trump feud, says he's 'more worried’ about 2022 than ever

Woman charged in Capitol riot says Proud Boys recruited her

U.S. ship sails in South China Sea by China-claimed islands

Right-wing justices think religion is under siege. Will the full Supreme Court follow?

Pentagon rethinking how to array forces to focus on China

'Bunch of baloney': After Trump's acquittal, some supporters eager to see him on the ballot in 2024

Biden: 'No one should go to jail for the use of a drug'

Buttigieg sets goals for electric, automated freight vehicles

Biden brings compassion, centrism and big-time vaccine promise at CNN town hall

POLITICO Playbook: The best (and worst) of Biden’s town hall
'Five days a week': Biden recommits to his goal for reopening K-8 schools

Biden continues $15 federal minimum wage push

California state Republican aims at ‘cancel culture’ with two bills – but faces quick Dem backlash

Biden asked for 6 months of extra unemployment benefits. Here's why House Democrats gave him 5 - BI

Where things stand on the COVID-19 relief measure

Texas power crisis points to challenges of renewable energy future

Biden's 1st 100 days live updates: Biden makes his case for COVID relief at town hall
These voters pressed Biden on key issues. Here's what they said about his answers.

PM Johnson charting path to re-open UK economy within months

Texas mayor quits after saying residents are ‘lazy’ amid outages

Reparations bill tests Biden and Harris on racial justice

Trump declares war on McConnell — vows to back MAGA challengers against GOP

Biden describes life at the White House: ‘A gilded cage’

What's behind the dangerous power outages in Texas?

Texans battle relentless 'drastic freezes' as power outages, record cold persist

Biden says he's 'tired of talking' about 'former guy' Trump in first town hall as president - BI

Biden honeymoon with green groups faces tests

Hopes for DC statehood rise with Democrats back in power

Senate GOP reelection arm targets 'vulnerable' Senate Dems on reopening schools

Son Of Prominent Conservative Activist L. Brent Bozell Charged In Capitol Riot

Fallout grows as details about Lincoln Project emerge

State lawmakers propose bill to ban fracking in California by 2027

After racial unrest across US Congress takes another look at reparations

Biden says China to pay price for human rights abuses

'I will not make that happen': Biden declines Democrats' call to cancel $50K in student debt

Murkowski says she can’t fear fallout for impeachment vote

Joe Biden’s Secret Weapon for Resetting Iran Policy

15 states sue U.S. agency over delayed hike in automaker emissions penalties

Five things to watch in the New York City mayoral race

Trump blasts McConnell as a 'hack' who lacks 'political insight'

Snubbed by Obama? Joe Biden says White House ‘residence’ was unseen by him – until he moved in

The women who fought against ISIS — an unusual experiment in women's equality
Donald Trump rips Mitch McConnell as each seeks to exert leadership after impeachment trial

Highlights of COVID-19 relief bill progressing in House

Princess Latifa: UN to question UAE about Dubai ruler's daughter

What McDonald's Shows About The Minimum Wage

Myanmar coup protesters mass again, reject army's claim it has public support

Pandemic politicking: Israel’s election sprint echoes US’s

Insurgence USA leader says media paid him thousands for Capitol riot footage

CNN skips asking about Cuomo nursing home scandal, TJ Ducklo fiasco at Biden Wisconsin town hall

House gears up for first GameStop stock hearing

Princess Latifa: The Dubai ruler's daughter who vanished

Trump unloads on "dour, sullen, and unsmiling" McConnell

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested again while in jail, papers say

Khamenei: Iran will only accept action, not talk, on nuclear deal

Big protests across Myanmar as UN expert fears violence

Dems acting like hypocrites on Capitol security compared to border wall: Rep. Nancy Mace

Electric vehicles are poised to aid Biden in climate fight

Europe pulls ahead in race for hydrogen, as global project pipeline grows: report

Protesters create gridlock in Yangon amid fears of violence

China steps up online controls with new rule for bloggers

U.S. shale could face weeks of depressed oil production due to cold

Opponent of Belarusian president faces 15 years in jail as trial begins

Coronavirus News and Updates:
Updated 7:59 PM CST

Studies suggest Pfizer, Moderna vaccines can protect against Covid variant

UN chief urges global plan to reverse unfair vaccine access

Exclusive: Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine supply to the EU 30% below plans, sources say

When will life get back to normal? Fauci now says 2022

VP Kamala Harris stresses teachers must be prioritized for Covid-19 vaccinations

Study: Genetic mutation inherited from Neanderthals could help protect against severe COVID cases

Thousands of service members saying no to COVID-19 vaccine

Biden admin will spend $1.6B to expand Covid-19 testing and sequencing

White House says teacher vaccinations are 'not a requirement to reopen'

US govt seizes over 10M phony N95 masks in COVID-19 probe

Analysis: Europe braces for pandemic reality to hit banks

U.S., China face U.N. cooperation test over UK push for vaccine ceasefires
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Posted 6:28 AM CST

COVID-19 bill would scale up ability to spot virus mutations

Thousands of Amazon workers falsely told they tested positive for COVID

Gaza to receive its first COVID-19 vaccine shipment, officials say

COVID-19 Vaccine: Don't Miss Your 2nd Dose Because Of Scheduling Glitches

Fauci pushes back timeline for widespread vaccinations

Biden resets his own Covid goalposts at CNN town hall

Biden Administration Says It Has Increased Vaccine Supply

Biden blames Trump for vaccine delays

Native Americans embrace vaccine, virus containment measures

Georgia bill seeks to reunite families with loved ones in nursing homes and hospitals

Japan begins COVID-19 vaccination in 'first major step' to halt pandemic

Biden: Virus vaccines will be 'available' to all Americans by 'end of July'

Former Biden advisers raise concern about mask recommendations, urge wider use of N95s

UK gives go-ahead to expose volunteers to COVID in medical trial

Vaccinating Homeless Patients Against COVID-19: 'All Bets Are Off'

Demographic shifts: How will COVID impact European populations?

Taiwan says BioNTech vaccine deal on hold, cites potential Chinese pressure

The Intensifying Race Between Coronavirus Variants And Vaccines

South Africa to give first COVID-19 vaccine doses to president, health workers